Phoenix, AZ (April 1, 2010) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Phoenix has issued a statewide complaint alleging that local union bosses and Fry’s Food Stores are illegally blocking independent-minded workers from stopping union dues payments.
The prosecution is the result of a four month long investigation of charges filed by Fry’s employees with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys. Employees from several Fry’s locations filed the federal charges challenging the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 99 union hierarchy and Fry’s management, after union and company officials refused to honor the employees’ legal rights to revoke their dues deduction authorizations and continued to illegally seize union dues from their paychecks.
Upset by the UFCW Local 99 strike threat last November, the employees resigned from the union and revoked their dues deduction authorizations – used by union officials to automatically withhold dues from employee paychecks – during a time in which the union did not have a contract at their workplaces. Under Arizona’s popular Right to Work law, no worker can be required to join or pay any money to a union; and under federal labor law, employees can revoke their dues deduction authorizations once a contract terminates.
The Phoenix NLRB regional director found that the dues deduction authorizations used by UFCW Local 99 union officials at all Fry’s locations are illegal because the dues deduction authorizations do not allow employees to revoke them during contract hiatus periods, as required by federal law.
Suspecting that the illegal dues deduction forms are used in all workplaces in Arizona where UFCW union bosses enjoy monopoly bargaining privileges, Foundation attorneys are now offering free legal aid to all employees affected by the illegal UFCW dues deduction authorizations.
“UFCW Local 99 bosses are likely violating the rights of tens of thousands of workers across the state of Arizona” said Patrick Semmens, Director of Legal Information at National Right to Work. “We intend to make sure that UFCW operatives play by the rules and stop extracting union dues from workers who, under Arizona’s popular Right to Work law, cannot be forced to pay union dues.”
With free legal assistance from the Foundation, Shirley Jones of Mesa; Karen Medley and Elaine Brown of Apache Junction; Kimberly Stewart and Saloomeh Hardy of Queen Creek; and Tommy and Janette Fuentes of Florence – acting for other similarly situated employees – filed the federal unfair labor practice charges that spurred the NLRB to investigate and issue a statewide complaint against UFCW Local 99 union bosses.
Note: Here is the list of UFCW organized employers in Arizona:
- Ace Parking – Phoenix
- Ace Parking – Tucson
- Albertson’s – Yuma
- ALSCO
- ARCO Services Company
- Arizona Center for Disability Law
- Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
- Calcot Compress Company
- Canteen (Raytheon)
- Canteen (Vendors)
- Canteen (Douglas)
- Community Legal Service
- Copper Queen Hospital
- Eurofresh
- Fry’s Food and Drug
- Fry’s Market Place
- Mission Foods
- Precept
- Robert B. Yacko, D.D.S., P.C.
- Safeway
- Smithfield
- Smith’s Food and Drug
- Southern Arizona Legal Aid
- Southwest Service Administrators
- Waste Management
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.
